From the outside looking in, the draft surprise for the Tigers was taking Jackson Jobe third overall -- especially with shortstop Marcelo Mayer still on the board.
The surprise from the inside looking out was that Ty Madden was still on the board almost 30 picks later. Detroit didn't hesitate to pick the right-handed pitcher from Texas No. 32 overall.
Madden might have been the steal of the draft. He was deemed the best pick by the Tigers by a trio of MLB.com draft experts, who noted he was ranked No. 9 among draft prospects by MLB Pipeline:
Madden could have been in consideration for Detroit’s first-round pick at No. 3 overall. ...The Texas right-hander throws in the mid-90s and shows impressive secondaries with his slider and changeup. He may not throw as well up in the zone as many in the modern game, but that shouldn’t matter as much since all of the other pieces are in place to make him a quality pro pitching prospect.
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Tigers director of amateur scouting Scott Pleis agreed that Madden, who could be in Detroit within two years, was the club's best surprise of the draft. He compared Madden to 2020 second-round pick Dillon Dingler, who's already reached Double-A.
"We really liked him," Pleis said of Madden. "I was surprised he slid as far as he did, but there’s always somebody that does that, always different reasons. When we got Dingler we didn’t think he was going to get to us either, so he’s kind of our Dingler this year. It’s a nice surprise."